HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE review: In small packages

Introduction

The DROID Incredible line of smartphones for Verizon Wireless, much like the EVO family offered by Sprint, consists of US-only, carrier exclusive devices made by HTC. The HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE is the latest member of the family to come our way and it seems to have ambitions worthy of its rather epic name.

HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE official photos

Unlike its predecessor, which was a minor update over the original, the HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE is a major leap forwards. The smartphone offers a curious blend of high-end features, packed into an already familiar looking and pocket-friendly package. As a matter of fact, you will have a hard time finding a more powerful Android device with similar dimensions on the US market.

Here goes the two lists, summing up the most important things you need to know about the HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE.

Key features

• LTE/EVDO/CDMA network support
• 4 " 16M-color Super LCD capacitive touchscreen of qHD resolution (960 x 540 pixels); Gorilla glass
• Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC Sense 4.0
• 1.2 GHz dual-core Krait CPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960 chipset
• 1 GB of RAM and 8GB of storage
• microSD card slot
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash; face detection and geotagging
• 1080p and 720p video recording @ 30fps with stereo sound
• 720p front-facing camera for video-chat
• Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• NFC connectivity
• Accelerometer, proximity sensor and auto-brightness sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth
• MHL TV-out (requires MHL-to-HDMI adapter)
• Smart dialing, voice dialing
• DivX/XviD video support
• HTC Portable Hotspot
• Beats audio enhancements

Main disadvantages

• Rather thick for a high-end device at 11.7mm
• Verizon's UI customizations are extremely intrusive
• Ageing looks
• No dedicated camera button
• No FM radio

As you probably noticed , the HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE is anything but short on processing power. Even when underclocked, the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 with its two Krait CPU cores is more than sufficient to easily pull a smartphone through any task you throw at it.

The fairly compact body of the Incredible 4G LTE is likely its most important feature. The device offers a great alternative to those who think that a Galaxy S III or an HTC One X is a bit too much to handle. Also, we had almost forgotten when was the last time we could handle an Android flagship with one hand.

The HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE does have its disadvantages but depending on your preferences and usage patterns they might not matter too much to you. The phone's looks are hardly revolutionary, but some might prefer to call the design an HTC classic. . Either way, the device is easily recognizable as a member of the Taiwanese company's smartphone lineup.

HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE live photos

As always, we are going to kick our review off with an unboxing of the HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE, followed by a design and build quality inspection.

Editorial: You might notice that this review is shorter than usual and doesn't include some of our proprietary tests. The reason is it has been prepared and written far away from our office and test lab. The HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE is a US-only phone and it will not be making rounds on the Old Continent. Still, we think we've captured the essence of the phone in the same precise, informative and detailed way that's become our trademark. Enjoy the good read!